The Musketeer Wanna Be
by keelykelly
Summary: Louis was a musketeer in training who couldn't get his act together, until he met the Princess. With her help, he quickly excelled to the surprise of Treville. But what happens when she goes missing? All characters are owned by Mattel. except for Guinevere, King Reginald, Queen Elizabeth, Junior, and Sir Edward. They're mine.
1. Can't quite cut it

"Louis! Louis! Pay attention!"

The young man snapped out of his thinking and glanced up at the captain of the musketeers "Yes Sir?"

Treville groaned "How do you expect to become a musketeer if you won't pay attention?"

Louis dropped his head "I'm sorry Sir."

Treville shook his head "Listen to me boy. If you don't learn to pay attention, then you will never be a good musketeer! You might not even become one period!"

Louis nodded his head "I understand, Sir."

"Then act like it!" Treville snapped, then he turned and walked away.

The other musketeers snickered "You might as well give up. You'll never become a musketeer."

"Men!" the captain got their attentions "Tomorrow morning, the Royal Family is coming out to observe the skills of the musketeers! Don't let me down!"

"Yes Sir!" All the men echoed.

Treville walked past Louis on his way to the office "Especially you."

The next morning, all the musketeers lined up, Louis stood a little bit away from the others, since he wasn't a full musketeer yet.

"Announcing, Their Royal Highnesses! King Reginald and Queen Elizabeth!" A man with a megaphone shouted "And The princesses Guinevere, and Corinne!"

Louis watched as a Raven haired beauty came floating out of the castle. Her dark brown eyes shining with pride.

Then his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful blonde that stepped out the doors. Her shiny white blond hair hung down in curls to her waist. Her bright pink dress emphasized her bright blue eyes. With out a doubt, Louis knew that this was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life.

Three Ladies in waiting followed the two princesses to their seats.

Louis suddenly felt a hard elbow ram into his side.

"Stop starring at the Princess you fool!" One musketeer, Sir Edward snapped.

Louis clamped his mouth closed and stood up straight, only peeking at the princess from the corner of his eye.

"Your Majesty." Treville bowed "Here are the musketeers. And the one in training."

The king nodded "Good. Show me what they can do."

Treville ordered two of his men to dual.

As Louis watched the princess, he noticed that although her face stayed emotionless, her eyes sparked with some sort of fun. She glanced over at him just then. They just stared at each other, until the princess finally turned away, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Does My Lady need a drink?" One of her ladies asked.

"No. Thank you." The princess answered. _Who is that? _she thought _I don't recall ever seeing him before._ She glanced back over at the young man. He was tall and really handsome.

Her father suddenly interrupted her thoughts "Bravo! Bravo! Wouldn't you say dear?"

"Yes." The queen answered fluttering her fan.

King Reginald suddenly pointed to Louis "You say he's in training? Let's see what he can do."

Treville's face blanched "H…He still needs a lot of work… Your Majesty."

"Let's see what the Boy can do!"

Treville bowed and motioned Louis over to him "Don't let me down!" then he turned to the king "What would you like him to do?"

"See how long he stands up against another musketeer." The king answered immediately.

Treville called Sir. Edward over to him and whispered "Go easy on him."

Sir Edward sneered "Of course."

The dual started, not thirty seconds later, Sir Edward had Louis' sword.

Corinne resisted the urge to face palm.

The king jumped to his feet "Preposterous!" he shouted "That boy has no talent!"

Louis hung his head as the other musketeers started to snicker.

Guinevere laughed "Ha! He shouldn't even be in training!"

"Get that boy out of here!" the king commanded.

Corinne leapt to her feet "Father!"

Instantly everything became quiet.

"Yes, my dear?" The king asked.

"Why not give him another chance?" Fire sparked through the girl's eyes as she stared at her father "Even Treville was in training once."

Guinevere stood up "No, Father. I say get rid of him!"

"Silence, Guinevere!" Her father shouted. He stared into the eyes of his youngest daughter "He gets one more chance."

Corinne did a small curtsy "Thank you, Father."

Guinevere huffed "I say no!"

"My decision has been made." The king said "Sit down."

Instead Guinevere turned and stomped away.

Louis bowed before the king "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The king nodded "Don't let me down."

_Why does everyone always say that to me?_ Louis thought, keeping his face straight. He looked up at the princess and nodded his gratitude. In return she nodded and smiled,

The next morning, Treville sent Louis into that castle to deliver a letter to the king.

"If you can't do this, I don't know what you can do." Treville shook his head "Now get going."

Louis bowed, then turned and ran. He wouldn't let Treville down this time!

Corinne's ladies-in-waiting were tending to her.

"Those musketeers are awfully cute." One that was brushing her hair, Aramina, swooned "Don't you think?"

Another one, Viveca, was hanging some new dresses in the closet said "I think you'd say Frankenstein was cute if he held a weapon."

Corinne laughed and took the brush from Aramina's hands "Thank you, girls. But you had probably head towards Guinevere's room before she wakes up."

The last lady in waiting. Renne, curtsied "Yes, Your Highness." then the girls left the room.

Corinne waited till she couldn't hear their footsteps anymore before she stood.

She removed her long skirt. Underneath it was a shorter one that was only nine inches below her knees. Then she tiptoed over to her wall and pushed one of the panels. It opened, and she slipped through, closing the secret door behind her.

Louis hurried through the castle towards the king's office.

"Well, well. If it isn't the little no account." Guinevere suddenly stepped in his path.

Louis skid to a stop "Your Highness." he made a low bow.

"Where are you going?" the princess demanded.

"To your father." Louis answered.

"Why?"

"To deliver a message for Monsieur Treville."

"Give me the letter."

Louis looked at her uncertain "I was told to give it to the king."

Guinevere grabbed the letter out of his hand, and to Louis' horror tore it to shreds.

"Oh my!" She said mockingly "Whatever will happen to you when Treville finds out you can't even deliver a letter!" with that, she brushed past him, pushing him into a small hallway.

Louis tried his best to keep his balance. He reached out and leaned against the wall. To his surprise, the brick that he had leaned against gave way and he fell through an opening in the wall.

Louis sat up and watched the wall close again, trapping him inside.

He stood up slowly trying to figure out how to get out of his predicament.

"I can't be in much more trouble than I already am." he said to himself.

He stood there quietly for a few moments. Then he heard this odd noise. It sounded like swords clashing together. But that was impossible.

He decided to follow the sound.

He walked through several twists and turns following the noise. Then around one corner he saw sunlight shining.

"Where is that coming from?" he wondered out loud. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden light. His mouth fell open at the sight before him. A huge contraption in the middle that consisted of many holes, pieces of rotating timber, and suits of armor that that had swords in their hands.

He saw movement on the other side of the room. His eyes growing wide at the sight of the princess. Her long flowing skirt had been replaced with a shorter one. Her long hair was twisted up in a bun, and she had a sword in her hand.

Louis watched in amazement as the suits of armor swung their swords wildly at the princess. She blocked every move with lightning speed. Then she hit something in the middle of the armor to make it stop moving. The machine spun around quickly as the princess back flipped over to a wall that had a bunch of different weapons on it. She grabbed a bow just as the contraption started shooting arrows her way.

Louis gasped as the arrows came within inches of the girl who was cutting cartwheels to avoid them. Then she straightened up, grabbed one of the flying arrows and shot it straight into the heart of the machine. The whole thing came to a stand still.

The princess straightened up and smiled.

"Wow." Louis whispered, but unfortunately, the sound echoed.

The princess's head jerked in his direction. They stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime. Then the machine gave a low groan and shot one last arrow out of its side straight at the distracted princess.


	2. The Princess's Secret

Corinne jumped out of the way as the arrow soared past her, ripping a hole her sleeve.

She looked back up at the boy in the doorway, just as his head disappeared. She heard his footsteps running down the long corridors.

With a sigh, she opened a wall that provided one of the many shortcuts through the passageways and ran through.

"I can't let him tell anyone!" she said to herself as she ran "I just can't!" She pushed open another doorway and came out right in front of Louis.

Louis skid to avoid hitting the girl. He spun around prepared to run again, but she grabbed his arm.

"Please! Stop!"

He stopped and turned to face her. He fought the urge to smile at the sight of her. Her perfectly fixed hair had loose strands hanging around her face, but her eyes were worried.

She removed her hand from his arm "Please, don't tell anyone!" she begged.

Louis nodded "I won't." he looked around "Where are we anyways?"

"In between the castle walls." Corinne answered, leading him back to the training room "No one notices that there's so mush space missing because of how huge the castle is."

"How did you find it?" he asked, looking around curiously.

"I was reading an old book that was written by my great, great grandfather." she said sitting down on a bench "I noticed how many times he put a word in that didn't really fit. So I went through and wrote down the words. It was a detailed description of where one of the secret panels were.." she pushed her runaway strands back up in where they belonged "Then it led me to a map of the whole place."

Louis looked at her impressed "How long have you know about this place?"

"Since I was seven." she answered smiling "My great, great grandfather built it in case of a raid or something. So the royal family could escape."

"He never told anyone?"

Corinne shook her head "He died for he had the chance."

"Incredible." Louis commented as he investigated to invention in the middle "And what about this?"

"He was a master swordsman and didn't want anyone to know." the girl stood up and walked over to him "Kind of like me, I guess."

Louis sighed "Something I'll never be."

Corinne smiled "You might can." she said "I could help you."

Louis stared at her "Really?"

"If you're not afraid to take lessons from a girl." The princess laughed.

Louis bowed "I'd be honored, your highness."

Corinne shook her head "We're friends now. Here, you call me Corinne. Alright?"

Louis nodded "Of course… Corinne."

Over the next few weeks, Louis would slip away from Treville's training to go train with Corinne in the passageways. She taught him where all the hidden doors were and how to open them. They spent hours just walking through the corridors talking, just so he could get familiar with them.

And then they trained. The more he was around her, the more she impressed him.

The first few days were discouraging, but she kept pushing him forward. Then after that, he improved quickly.

The first week after training with the Princess, Louis was able to hold onto his sword for five minutes before the other musketeer got it from him. Then after that, no one knew how he was suddenly improving. He was winning duals, staying on his feet, and now he had an air of confidence around him. Treville marveled at the improvement of the boy.

"Maybe he is cut out to be a musketeer." Treville said to himself, watching the boy take on one of the musketeers "He just needed a little more time."

At the end of the fourth week, the king called all the musketeers together to see their improvements.

Much to Louis' disappointment, Corinne didn't join him. But he caught sight of her in a window and smiled.

"How is training?" The king asked Treville.

Treville smiled "Very well, Sire."

The king nodded and took a seat "Let's see."

Treville called Louis and another musketeer over. After five minutes, Louis was holding the other's sword in his hand.

"Bring on another!" the king shouted.

Instead two came rushing towards him.

Louis looked up in the window where Corinne was standing. She waved for him to go for it. So, with a determination not to let her down, Louis waited until they got closer. After a few twists and turns, Louis threw both of their swords away from them. Almost immediately three came running over. Louis threw their swords too.

King Reginald stood to his feet "Well done! Well done, my boy!"

Louis bowed "Thank you, Your Majesty." he stole a peek up in the window to see Corinne clapping and smiling brightly.

Sir Edward stepped forward "May I challenge the young man?"

"He's had enough for one day." Treville said "How about another day?"

The king waved Treville aside "Let him have it, Traville. Being a musketeer doesn't end after a few minutes."

Louis turned to his opponent. He saw the hatred gleaming in his eyes.

From her position in the window, Corinne watched the two walk towards each other. A feeling in the pit of her stomach told her this wasn't a good idea.

Sir Edward charged the boy with the ferocity of a hungry lion.

Louis did well against him, and almost had him beat, but then, Sir Edward turned his sword and rammed the handle of it into Louis stomach.

Corinne gasped as she watched the boy crumple to the ground "No. Louis!" then she turned and ran down the stairs.

Treville glared at Sir Edward "You didn't have to do that Edward!"

Sir Edward scoffed "I was just testing him. If he becomes a musketeer, people will do a lot worse than that to him."

The king nodded "He has a point."

Treville sighed "Alright. But from now on, leave the testing to me."

The king went back inside and Treville and Edward walked away, leaving Louis alone on the ground.


	3. The Plot & A Trip into Trouble

Corinne ran past her sister, almost knocking her over. Then she brushed past her father as he was coming in the door.

"Corinne!" the king exclaimed in shock. But the girl didn't hear him. Her only thoughts were those of Louis.

She ran out and looked around. She finally saw him laying in the dirt.

Taking no thought of dirt getting on her dress, she ran straight to him and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He nodded as he pushed himself to his knees and groaned.

The king, queen and Guinevere looked out to see why Corinne had been rushing so fast.

"She was going to help the no account." Guinevere sneered.

They watched as Corinne helped Louis to his feet. They couldn't see Corinne's face, or hear what she was saying, and it was probably a good thing.

Corinne helped Louis up, concern written all over her face.

"I knew he was going to do something out of line." she said "Oh, Louis are you sure you're okay?"

Louis looked at her and managed a weak smile "I'm fine. I guess all that training you've given me has paid off." he chuckled slightly "I have to thank you. I'd probably be on the road home if it wasn't for you."

Guinevere looked at her parents "Aren't you going to go stop her?"

King Reginald looked at his eldest daughter, then back at Corinne "Why?"

"Because she's… She… Ooh!" With that, Guinevere turned and marched away.

That night Guinevere paced in her room angrily "That little brat! She always gets her own way!"

She heard muffled voiced coming through her vent in the floor.

"Someone's in the throne room." she said to herself as she left her room.

She hurried down the hall, down the stairs, down another hall and peeked through the throne room door.

"Are you sure, Dear?" The Queen asked.

The king nodded "Yes. It has to be done that way. She has the heart of a queen."

Guinevere lifted her chin proudly.

"But what about Guinevere?"

The girl dropped her chin again. Wait. If they weren't just talking about her then…

"Corinne is the only one qualified to run the kingdom." King Reginald said "She loves people, and not just herself. That's a quality that Guinevere doesn't possess."

"But that breaks tradition!" the Queen argued "The oldest gets the throne…"

"Unless a more worthy candidate is discovered." The King finished "I'm sorry Dear. But that's the way it has to be."

Guinevere bit back a scream, then turned and ran back up to her room.

"No." She said bitterly to herself "There is no way I'm loosing to Corinne!"

She sat up all night thinking up the perfect plot to get rid of her little sister.

The next morning, Louis and Corinne were sword fighting in the secret training room.

"You have definitely improved." Corinne laughed as she ducked his sword.

Louis smiled "You think so?"

She nodded "Of course."

"Think I'll get to be as good you?"

"Nope."

Louis laughed. He loved being with this girl "And why is that?"

"Because," their swords locked together, bringing the two just inches from each other "I have more years of experience than you."

Then she pulled back, and with one experienced move, sent Louis' sword flying into the wall.

Louis clapped "I bet you could beat Sir Edward."

Corinne yanked his sword out of the wall and tossed it to him "I bet I could too."

Louis was silent for a few minutes, then he sat his sword down "Hey, would you like to go out to town with me sometime?"

She thought for a moment "I've never been out to town."

He walked over to her and took her sword "Then how about it? Just once?"

"Is it safe?" She knew that was a dumb question, but it had already come out.

"We'll take the swords is case it isn't." Louis answered smiling.

She was silent for so long, that he thought she was going to say no.

She looked straight at him and smiled "Let's do it!"

She started to leave, then she froze. She turned around and ran to Louis, swiftly pecking him on the cheek. Then she ran out, leaving the boy standing there stunned.

Guinevere snuck out of the castle and far back into the woods where a friend of hers lived. She knocked on the door and was let in almost immediately.

"How can I help you?"

"I want to get rid of my sister." Guinevere answered "She's stealing _my_ kingdom. _My _Crown! _My _fortune!"

Sir Edward rubbed his chin thoughtfully "I could kidnap her and take her far away until after the coronation."

"Then we could wait until I have the crown on _my_ head, go show it off to my sister and then, kill her!" Guinevere snickered evilly.

Louis and Corinne slipped out of the secret passageways, using a door that opened outside the stables.

Corinne had on a cape and hood to hide her face, incase any one who would recognize her was out.

Louis led her through the town, showing her different sights and whatnot.

"It's so beautiful out here." Corinne sighed "It feels odd walking among the people. But it feels good too."

Louis smiled at her "I think it's safe to say that I have never met anyone like you, Corrine. Not ever."

Suddenly, a huge rough looking guy stepped in their path. Hit hair was ratty and his teeth were green. His clothes were torn and smelt like they hadn't been washed in a month.

"What have we here." he said, examining the couple "Looks like a couple of money bags."

Five more guys, much like the first one, stepped out surrounding them.

Louis stood up straight "Stay back! We are armed!"

The men all laughed. Hard evil laughs.

"Ooh! the girl's armed?" One guy mocked.

Corinne grabbed one of the two swords that Louis had on his belt and swung it at the gangster. His one inch beard suddenly became a quarter of an inch long.

"He said, stay back!" Corinne snapped "And now I'm warning you! Leave us alone!"

With menacing chuckles, the gangsters pull out various weapons.

Three had giant wooden clubs, one had a pair of chucks, one had a long whip and the leader had a spiked ball on a chain.

Corinne and Louis were standing back to back with the gang surrounding them.

Louis could have kicked himself. What was he thinking? Bringing the princess out here.

The two with the clubs charged at them, clubs swinging wildly.

Corinne swung her sword. The sharp edge sliced through wood, leaving the men with little six inch clubs. With a swift kick, Corinne sent them both sprawling on the ground.

"You're a dead person!" the gangster with the chucks shouted. He lunged at Louis, who jumped out of his way.

"I'd say the same about you." Louis countered "Except I prefer to spare a life."

He knocked the chucks out of the guys hands and sent it flying. From the corner of his eye, he saw the man with the whip snap it in the direction of the princess.

Louis stuck his sword out. The whip wrapped around it, then with a vicious jerk, Louis yanked the whip out of the man's hand.

"Thanks." Corinne panted, kicking another gangster.

"Anytime." Louis answered. All of the sudden, his sword went skidding across the ground.

The leader grinned wickedly as he kept his weapon swinging. He swung it at Corinne, who jumped back. But the weapon caught her sword and sent it flying away too.

The two stood back to back.

"What do we do now?" Corinne asked.

"I don't know." Louis whispered "I am so sorry. I never should have brought you out here!"

Suddenly, an idea ignited in her head "Louis! Cover me!"

"How?"

But she didn't answer. She was down on her knees doing something.

"Give up?"

"Never!" Corinne jumped to her feet, the one gangster's whip in hand. Hooked to the end of it was the chucks.

She swung it around her head. The gangsters backed up, now uncertain of what to do.

Louis hit the ground and slowly scooted away from her.

Then leader raised his ball and chain to swing it at her.

"I wouldn't do that." Corinne warned, snapping her weapon in his direction.

He didn't listen. So, she swung her whip at him. It wrapped around the handle of the weapon, the chucks hit his hand violently.

"Ow!" he screamed, releasing his weapon.

Corinne yanked back, and caught it. She looked around at the gang "Any one anxious to be test subject number two?"

All the gang members slowly backed up, then turned and ran.

Corinne dropped her weapon and turned to Louis. They ran together and hugged, both relieved to be alive.

Louis sighed "I am so sorry. I never should have brought you out to town!"

"It's alright, Louis." Corinne said into his shoulder "It's alright."

Just then, Treville and a few other musketeers rode up. Treville was totally taken aback by the view that met him. Louis and… the princess?! Hugging? In the middle of town?

"What's going on here?!" Treville bellowed.

The young couple jerked away from each other. It was the first time that Corinne noticed that her hood had fallen off in the struggle. She timidly reached back and pulled it back over her head.

Treville dismounted and glared at Louis "You! You brought the princess off castle property! It's against the law!"

"It was my idea!" Corinne jumped to her friend's defense.

Louis placed a hand on Corinne's shoulder "It's alright Corinne."

Treville raised an eyebrow at the sound of the princess's first name coming from a boy who had no status in life.

"It was my idea." Louis confessed.

"No! it was mine!" Corinne spoke up again, begging Louis to go along with her game.

Treville spoke before anyone else could "It doesn't matter who's idea it was! All that matters is that Louis here broke the law!"

Treville pulled the princess over to one of the other musketeers and helped her mount up behind him.

"I will not tell their majesties what I have witnessed today." the captain said "But, Louis, you are banned from the castle property! If I so much as see your shadow in the courtyard. I will throw you into the dungeon!"

With that, Treville remounted his horse and led the others away.

Corinne looked back at him one last time. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a tear slip down her cheek.


	4. Attack in the Knight

When the musketeers and the princess reached the castle, Corinne spoke for the first time.

"I had better sneak in on my own." she said, hopping down from the horse "It'll be less conspicuous."

Treville nodded "Yes, Your Highness."

After the musketeers rode away, Corinne ran to the secret entrance that was outside the castle, through the passageways and up to her room.

She quickly changed her dress, fixed her hair and washed her face before flinging herself on to her bed.

The three ladies-in-waiting slipped into her room.

"Are you alright?" Aramina cried alarmed.

Corinne sat up slowly, wiping the tears from her face "Yes. I am fine."

"What happened?" Renee asked.

Corinne shook her head "I can't say. I'm sorry."

The three ladies looked at each other and slowly left the room.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was in love." Aramina said.

Viveca raised an eyebrow "And who would she be in love with?"

Aramina shrugged "I don't know."

That night, Corinne couldn't sleep. She just tossed and turned.

When the clock in the hall chimed two, light footsteps crept towards her room.

He planned on going in there and just threatening her to stay quiet and follow him.

But as he eased her door open, she was suddenly on her feet holding a sword, that she had pulled off of her wall, in her hand pointing it at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Behind his black disguise, Sir Edward raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that.

Corinne glared at him "Leave now."

Sir Edward pulled out his own sword and pointed it at her "Come with me, and you won't be harmed."

"Sorry." Corinne snapped "I'm not going anywhere."

Edward swung his sword at her, expecting to scare her. Instead, her sword met his in the middle with clash.

The princess looked at him levelly "Don't try it."

He tried another blow, but was blocked again.

Soon, a dual started in her bedroom. Swords clashed together as the princess blocked his every move.

Guinevere heard an odd sound coming from down the hall.

"What is that?" she said to herself as she headed for her door. She walked down the hall and peeked into Corinne's room. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of her sister battling Edward.

She ran and grabbed a rope from one of the drapes in the hall and looked back in the door.

Corinne's back was now to her.

With one final move, Corinne sent Edward's sword flying into the ceiling.

Edward stared at her. He had just been defeated by a girl?

Corinne held her sword at him "I'm giving you one last chance to leave before I call the musketeers." suddenly she gasped as something looped around her neck and tightened. She pulled at it frantically but couldn't get it to come loose. Then she fell to the floor unconscious.

Guinevere released the cord from her sister's neck and smiled, leaning up against the wall "That went well."

Edward groaned, then reached down to pick up the unconscious girl.

Suddenly, Aramina, Viveca and Renee ran into the room. Not seeing Guinevere standing behind them.

The three girls gasped at the sight of the black figure leaning over the princess.

"What's going on here!?" Renee demanded.

"What did you do to the princess!?" Viveca and Aramina added together.

Edward didn't answer. He just watched Guinevere subtly pick up a chair that was sitting next to her. Then with a vicious swing, knocked the three ladies out.

She sat the chair back down "Let's go before anything else happens!" she whispered hoarsely.

Edward nodded, picked up the princess, non to gently, and ran out the door.


	5. Looking for the Princess

When the sun rose the next morning, Louis walked through the town. His head hung low.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ he thought _I should have know we'd get in trouble._

Then he heard the overdramatic sound of Princess Guinevere saying something.

"That girl is loud!" He said to no one in particular.

It was all pretty muffled, but he caught one sentence.

"I tried to rescue Corinne from them!"

Louis' eyes widened. Corinne? Was she in trouble?

As he looked at the castle, the front doors flew open and the three Ladies-in-waiting came flying out.

"And stay away!" The king shouted "I should have you arrested!"

"But we tried to stop the man!" one cried

"One of your jobs was to insure the princesses did not get hurt!" The King growled at them "And now look! Corinne is missing!"

Louis' head reeled. Corinne was missing? How?!

The three girls walked past him slowly.

"Wait!" Louis called "What happened to Corinne?"

The three girls turned to look at him doubtfully. But then decided they could trust him.

"We heard an odd noise in her room last night." Renee said "We ran to see what was going on. And there was this black figure standing over the princess. She was on the floor unconscious."

"What!?" Louis stared at the girls "What happened?"

Aramina shrugged "We don't know. We got knocked out a few seconds later."

Louis put his face in his hands and groaned "It would have had to have been something extreme. No one could just go in there and knock her out."

The girls looked at him questioningly. But before they could ask any questions, the king called to them, asking them to please come back to the castle.

"I am so sorry girls." The king said sadly "It's not your fault that Corinne is missing."

Viveca smiled reassuringly at him "It's alright Your Majesty. We understand. You're worried. That can cause unnatural reactions sometimes."King Reginald nodded "Thank you." he motioned them back in the door "Please go to Guinevere. Stay with her every spare second. Just to be sure nothing happens to her."

The three groaned inwardly. The thought of being fired didn't sound so bad anymore.

Louis slipped into the secret entrance that was outside the stables and ran through the corridors. He came out in Corinne's room. Louis looked around. There were definite signs of struggle. He looked up, and stepped back in shock at the sight of the sword stuck in the ceiling. He stared at it for a minute, then quickly realized who's it was.

"Sir Edward." Louis groaned.

The door behind him swung open, and a musketeer barged in.

"You!" the musketeer shouted.

Louis pushed past him and ran down the hall.

The musketeer followed him as fast as he could. He rounded a corner and stopped. Louis had disappeared. On the other side of the wall, Louis leaned against the door panting. That was close. Then he left through the stables and waited for a musketeer to come out to town.

Monsieur Treville rode past him.

"Captain!" Louis called "Captain! Stop!"

Treville looked back at the boy, distaste written all over his face "What?"

"I know do did it!"

"Did what?"

"Kidnapped the princess!"

Treville squinted his eyes at the boy "Who?"

"It was Sir Edward! He…"

Treville held up his hand "Stop! How do you expect me to believe this story?"

"I…"

"You never did like Sir Edward."

"Sir! Please!"

"No!" Treville glared down at Louis "Honestly, I'd suspect you did it before I'd suspect Sir Edward!"

"Me?" Louis stepped back shocked.

"Yes." Treville nodded "For all I know. You kidnapped the princess and hid her somewhere so you could bring her back and become a musketeer!"

"I would never!" Louis defended himself "And besides. There was more than one person involved, because she could have easily taken one person on alone!"

"As if you would know!" Treville snapped.

Louis looked levelly at the Captain of the Musketeers "Sir, I know her better than anyone else in this world. And if you won't help me find her, I'll find her myself!"

Then he turned and ran off, leaving a baffled Treville behind.

Guinevere had turned on the tears to make her parents think she was afraid for her sister.

_Ha! _she thought_ Now the brat's out of my way!_

Two days after she had gone missing, Edward came in and told a very convincing story about finding the young girl dead.

Louis was listening through the walls.

No. Louis thought _No. She can't be dead! She just can't be!_

"She must have escaped her attacker, then gotten eaten by a wild animal." Edward said, putting on a sad front.

Louis wanted to charge through the wall and knock Edward flat!

_If I find out that he has killed her. _Louis thought, a mixture of fear and anger swelling up in his chest _He will pay!_

"What else can we do?" Guinevere fake sobbed.

The king sighed and laid his hand on his sobbing Queen's shoulder.

"Guinevere," he said slowly "As tradition, you will be crowned queen in one week."

Louis gulped. _One week!?_

"Since Corinne is no longer here to take her place." The queen finished.

The two royals got up and left the room. Leaving Edward and Guinevere alone.

Guinevere cackled "Perfect."

Louis pressed his ear closer to the wall trying to catch every word.

"Once I am queen, we'll go finish her off. But I want her to see me in my crown first!" she laughed some more. A laugh that sent chills down Louis' spine "Good bye, Corinne!"

Louis backed away from the wall. Corinne was still alive!

"I have to find her before the coronation!" he said to himself as he ran back through the passageways "I'm going to need some help. But from who?" then an idea hit him. He knew exactly who to go to. But first, he backtracked into the castle for a little something else.

As the sun set, Louis ran to the outskirts of town to a small falling down hut and knocked loudly at the door.

The burly gangster leader opened the door. He looked at Louis shocked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly.

Louis didn't even cower a little bit "I'm in need of your help." he answered.

"Oh?" the gangster leaned against the door jam.

"The girl I was with when you attacked me the other day is Princess Corinne. She is missing." Louis said, watching the gangster's eyebrows raise "I need help finding her."

"What's in it for me?" the big guy asked.

Louis held up a bag of gold coins that he had taken from the treasury through a secret door "And." he added "You won't have to live under Princess Guinevere's rules."

"What do you mean by that."

"They're crowning her next week."

The gangster shivered "Then let's get moving!" he stepped out and pulled the door closed behind him "By the way. My name is Junior."

Louis looked up at the massive man and grinned "I should have known."

Corinne opened her eyes slowly. Where was she? Her hands and feet were tied, and there was a piece of cloth wrapped securely around her mouth.

She heard some voices whispering and decided not to move.

"She'll be out of the picture before to long." a voice that sounded too familiar said.

_Guinevere?_

"Well, make it quick." a harsh mans voice growled "That little no account thinks he's going to find her."

"He won't." Guinevere rolled her eyes "In one week, I will be queen. And the first thing I'm going to do after I get rid of my sister, is dispose of the useless boy they call Louis!"

Corinne swallowed the urge to gasp. She was going to kill Louis! She tried to think of a way to get out, but she figured she had probably better stay still while the other two were there.

She heard footsteps coming her way and quickly closed her eyes.

"How hard did you choke her?" the man asked, nudging the bottom of her shoe with hit foot.

Guinevere chuckled "Maybe she won't wake up. Then I won't get the pleasure of destroying her!" her and the man laughed like it was some kind of joke.

Corinne felt an involuntary shiver go down her spine as the man stuck his sword into the dirt floor just inches away from her face.


	6. Not Cut Out to Be a Musketeer

Louis and Junior had been searching for five days with no luck.

When the sun set, they stopped to make camp.

Louis stared into the fire while Junior skinned a rabbit he had caught.

"Hey, Louis." Junior said, getting the younger man's attention "Why are you so anxious to find the princess anyways."

Louis looked up at his new found friend, then back into the fire "We just have to."

Junior watched him for a few more seconds "You're in love with her, aren't you."

"What!?" Louis exclaimed, his head snapping in the direction of the gangster "Of course not!"

Junior sent him look that said "Uh-huh. Sure."

Louis sighed and slouched back over "Alright. Maybe I am. I don't know."

Junior hung the rabbit up over the fire "We'll find her in time, Louis."

The younger man rubbed his forehead "I sure hope so Junior. I surely hope so."

The next day produced no more luck than the days before, but men wouldn't give up.

As the seventh day dawned, Guinevere went out to see her sister.

"Is she still out?" she asked, as she looked at the girl curled up in the same place she had been since day one.

Corinne mentally praised herself at a good job of fooling her sister.

Edward shrugged "I guess you strangled her harder than you thought."

Guinevere shrugged "Oh well. I have a coronation to get to! Come on!"

As soon as they had left the little shack, Corinne worked herself into a sitting position and turned so her bound hands were up against Edwards sword that was still stuck in the floor. She would have done it sooner, but she was always afraid that they would return while she was doing it, and would put an end to her.

Louis and Junior were walking past some trees when they heard a horse coming.

The two dodged behind some bushes just as a dark brown horse with Edward and Guinevere went riding by.

After they had disappeared, Louis stepped out from his hiding place.

"We must be close!" he said excitedly, starting to run in the direction that the others had just come from.

Junior was right behind him.

Three hours later, the duo came across a little shack.

"You wait here." Louis told Junior "If there's trouble, I'll call you."

Then he crept towards the shack.

Inside, Corinne had just gotten her legs to work so she could walk without any problems. After being tied up for a week, they weren't ready to move again.

She was about to head for the door, when it started creaking open slowly.

She grabbed Edward's sword and quietly ran into a dark corner that couldn't bee seen by the door.

A dark figure slipped through the doorway, then the door closed behind him.

Thinking it was Edward, Corinne swung her sword at him. To her partial surprise, the person yanked out a sword and blocked her. Then they tried an attack which she blocked. Then the air was filled with the sound of swords swinging and connecting.

Outside, Junior heard the commotion and rushed to help his buddy.

He swung the door open, letting light flood the room.

In the middle of the room, with their swords locked together stood Louis and Corinne.

Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of each other. They jumped back, dropping their sword in the process.

"Corinne?"

"Louis!"

She threw herself into his arms "How did you find me here?"

Louis breathed a sigh of relief "We looked everywhere for you!" he pushed her back to look at her "Are you alright?"

She nodded "A little hungry and thirsty. But I'm fine."

Then he hugged her again.

From the doorway, Junior cleared his throat "I don't mean to ruin this moment." he said "But the coronation is in two hours. And us two poor boys don't own any horses."

Corinne nodded "Let's go."

Then they ran out the door.

Guinevere was on her knees waiting for the crown to be put on her head.

_Closer. _she thought _Just a little closer._

The king started lowering the crown to her head "I now pronounce you…"

"Stop!"

Everyone spun around to see Corinne, Louis and Junior standing in the doorway.

Guinevere jumped to her feet "No! How did you escape!"

"Crime never pays Guinevere!" Corinne shouted "Give it up now!"

"Never!" The almost-crowned princess jumped to her feet "Edward!"

To everyone's horror, Sir Edward pulled a sword from his belt and charged towards the returned princess.

Louis pulled his sword out and met him halfway. Their swords met with such force that it sent sparks flying in the air.

"Men!" Edward called "Assist me!"

About a dozen other musketeers and several of the men in the crowd came running out.

Corinne looked around. Junior was missing.

"It had better be a good reason!" she said as she grabbed an extra sword from a nearby suit of armor.

The crowd and the royals were shocked to see the princess swinging two swords around like an expert.

Junior came running back in the door followed by the rest of his gang. All carrying weapons.

After ten minutes, all the men, except for Edward were down and being held by Junior and his gang.

"Corinne!" Louis called "Guinevere's going after the crown!"

With a nod, Corinne raced to the front where her sister was picking up the crown and about to put it on her head.

Corinne kicked the crown, sending it flying right into her mother's lap.

Guinevere jumped to her feet and raised her hand to slap her sister.

Corinne grabbed her wrist "Guinevere! Listen to me!"

"No!" the enraged princess screamed as she swung her other hand around to strike her sister.

In the middle of the floor, Louis sent Edward's sword flying out of his hands.

"It's over Edward!" He snapped.

Just then, Treville and his other musketeers came running in. Treville grabbed Edward while two others grabbed Guinevere.

Corinne looked at her older sister "Listen to me. I forgive you for everything you've done."

No one in the room breathed.

"We can put it all behind us and move forward." the princess continued "We're sisters Gwinn. Surely we can work this out."

Guinevere snorted "Never! I will not bow to a little worm like you! Never!"

King Reginald stood up "Take them all away!"

Then Guinevere, Edward, and all the others were dragged away.

Louis rushed over to Corinne, completely forgetting about the crowd that was there.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Corinne nodded "Are you?"

"If you're okay. Then I'm okay." Louis answered.

There was a soft "Aw!" through the crowd.

Corinne and Louis laughed, remembering that they were standing in front of all France.

Treville walked over and laid a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"I'm sorry." he said "I should have listened to you."

Louis smiled "No hard feelings, Captain."

King Reginald walked over to join them "I'd say this boy was cut out to be a musketeer. Wouldn't you Treville?"

Treville nodded "Definitely, Sire."

"No." Corinne spoke up, which caused her to get several curious looks "I don't think he was cut out to be a musketeer."

Everyone looked at her shocked, Louis looked hurt.

Corinne smiled "I think he was cut out to be a king."

Louis' mouth dropped open "Y…You mean you…"

Corinne nodded "Yes Louis. I love you."

Another round of 'Aw's went through the building.

The king looked at his daughter, then at the young man before him "Yes Corinne. He does have the heart of a king."

One week later, Corinne stood before a mirror, admiring her long white dress. It's sleeves were long and edged with gold. As was the hem and collat.

She turned to her three ladies-in-waiting.

"Thank you for what you tried to do." she said hugging them.

"It was our pleasure, Your Highness." Renee smiled "It's time to go."

They helped her off of the little stand she was on and led her out the door to where her father was waiting.

He offered her his arm, and she gladly excepted "You will make a fine queen, my dear."

"Thank you… Daddy." Corinne said as she stood up on her tiptoes and pecked her father on the cheek.

Reginald cleared his throat "Well, Louis is waiting."

The doors swung open. As she walked down the isle, she saw Louis waiting patiently for her.

She smiled brightly as she walked towards her husband-to-be. Her future. And her happily ever after.


End file.
